Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to in-vehicle communication and, more particularly, to a signal conversion method within a vehicle having Ethernet and controller area network (CAN) communication coexisting therein and an apparatus to perform the signal conversion method.
Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, communication between controllers (or electronic control units (ECUs)) within a vehicle is performed in a controller area network (CAN) mode. However, CAN communication speed is relatively slow. Accordingly, commercial Ethernet has been actively used for communication between the controllers in recent years.
The communication speed may be increased through the use of such commercial Ethernet. In addition, system configuration cost may be reduced by configuring the system using substantially inexpensive parts. Furthermore, it may be possible to simply maintain a wiring and connection structure by connecting an ECU local network to one main system bus. However, vehicle communication based on the CAN communication may be continuously used in the industry and, therefore, a data conversion mechanism is necessary between the Ethernet and the CAN communication within a vehicle network having the Ethernet and the CAN communication coexisting therein.